A Merry Miss Fisher Christmas
by RositaLG
Summary: It's the 25 Days of Ficmas, Miss Fisher style! Consider this your MFMM Advent Calendar. A short, holiday-themed one shot of 500 words or less will be posted each day to help us all get through December.
1. December 1st: Handcuffs and Mistletoe

**December 1st:**

"And what are your Christmas Eve plans, Inspector?" Phryne asked less than subtly. He was standing at his office door, waiting for her to leave so that he could close up.

"Christmas is usually our busy season, believe it or not. I usually end up working." He informed her.

"Waiting for Santa with a gun." She raised her eyebrow. "Now there's a jolly thought. And here I was going to invite you to have dinner with us. Do you think you could squeeze us into your busy schedule?"

Jack was visibly surprised by the offer. He didn't know her that well, personally-speaking. Although, she was in the habit of collecting lost souls. Maybe he was just another name on her list.

"Say you'll try." She commanded, and he knew that she wouldn't leave without an answer.

"I'll try." He feigned a vow to appease her.

"Good." She smiled broadly. "And if there is a murder, I'll bring the mistletoe and you can bring the handcuffs and we'll make Christmas happen all on our own." She whispered with a wink.

He knew very well that she was pushing boundaries just to push, but damn if his face didn't grow warmer at the suggestion.

"Good night, Miss Fisher." He dismissed her with a gesture to the open door.

"Good night, Detective Inspector." She purred as she sauntered away.


	2. December 2nd: Mata Hari

When Jack awoke, it was because he was too warm. She was lying on his chest, completely wrapped around him and he could feel her gaze burning up at him.

"Gathering intelligence, Mata Hari?" He asked her. Phryne gave pause at the nickname but persevered unaffected.

"I can't resist. There's just so much to learn." She purred too innocently as her finger continued with its dance along his skin. He knew it was a cover for whatever thoughts she had been trying to sort through, so he closed his eyes and left her to her game. After their night together, he was exhausted. She could do whatever she liked to him if he could sleep through it.

"Speaking of learning new things," she continued unfazed, "I found a rather small box buried in your desk drawer yesterday. Any chance it's my Christmas present?" She asked far too casually. She was testing him for a reaction and he wasn't going to give it to her. Jack knew that she thought it was a ring. What he didn't know was whether or not she _wanted_ it to be a ring. He didn't respond, just kept his eyes closed. He took great pleasure in making her squirm.

"I will get it out of you eventually, Jack Robinson." She promised as she scraped her fingernails down his chest, across his hip bone and…

"Oh." He opened his eyes in happy surprise as she stroked him firmly. "Mm, it would appear Mata Hari has found a new mission." He murmured, not objecting in the least. Phryne didn't miss a beat.

"Oui. Et vous parlerez." She assured him in her sultry French accent as she kissed her way down his body. He knew very little French, but he understood immediately.

 _Yes. And you will talk._

He smirked at her naive confidence. She had no idea how well trained he was in staying silent under duress. But if she was going to be Mata Hari, he had no qualms about being her German soldier.

"Nie." He promised her right back in German.

 _Never._


	3. December 3rd: Tattooed Topography

While Phryne had been in India, she'd learned to belly dance.

It was merely a passing statement, yet another mention of her adventures meant to entertain her holiday guests. Jack found the tidbit amusing, and yes, a tad arousing, but he had seen her fan dance before. He already knew that she was a talented tease. It was the next piece of information that stuck with him: she had gotten a Henna tattoo painted across her back, from her left hip to right shoulder.

He slid his palm up his erection at the image forming in his brain.

He envisioned what she'd look like, satin sheet draped around the curve of her hips as she sat topless, revealing only her back to him. Even without seeing her face, his fantasy was too detailed. The topography of her flesh was imprinted in his mind from every backless dress she'd ever worn and he'd mentally run his hands over that pale map a thousand times. If he ever got the chance, he'd kiss that dimple on her left shoulder blade and run his tongue along the subtle curve of her spine, tasting her salty flesh.

Jack licked his lips at the thought.

He would slide his hands up her stomach before palming her breasts, making her moan in that low, seductive way that only her voice managed. He'd take her from behind, rocking into her until she was undulating underneath him.

He pumped faster, desperate to replicate a sensation that he had never experienced. He came hard, shuddering through an intense orgasm that left him feeling boneless and weak.

Jack Robinson had survived divorce, 20 years on the police force, and four years in a global war but a single sentence from her during Christmas dinner had completely destroyed him.

Behold the power of the feminine.


	4. December 4th: Eggnog Effects

"Jack! What are you doing? Jack! Put me down." She tried to sound stern, but with her ankles flailing fruitlessly in the air in front of him, that was impossible to do.

"Phryne, you're going to wake the entire household." The Inspector whispered as he carried her up the stairs, her tiny body slung over his shoulder like a knapsack.

"Household be damned. I'm upside down!" She reminded him.

"You're drunk." He countered bluntly as he lowered her onto her bed.

"And how much eggnog did you have tonight?" She asked accusingly.

"Less than you." He promised her, earning a glare from her. "You tripped on the stairs twice. I wasn't risking you breaking your neck simply so you could prove your independence." He said matter of factly. "Now, where are your pajamas?"

"I don't wear them in the summer." She told him defiantly. "Why? Are you going to undress me too?" She hissed.

"That depends. Can you manage on your own?" He asked roughly, fulling willing to match her wit for wit tonight.

"Yes." She said, and began stripping for him, simply out of spite. "See?" She asked, naked as the day she was born.

"Yes. Quite." He replied, slightly redder but refusing to look away. "Now, into bed with you." He said as he came to his senses.

"Jack!"

"Now, Phryne." He commanded. He lifted her comforter and waited for her to cooperate. Phryne slunk toward him like a panther, barely a whisper coming between her and his suit jacket. They locked eyes until she continued straight past him and into bed. He threw the blanket over her.

"There. Are you happy now, Detective Inspector?" Phryne asked petulantly with an eye towards his trousers.

"Goodnight, Miss Fisher." He said blankly, revealing nothing to her as he turned out the light on her and shut the door behind him.


	5. December 5th: The Worst Christmases

"Oh look. Mother has sent us a Christmas card. It's positively Dickensian! Snow covered London." Phryne flashed the card his way as she walked into the bedroom. "I do miss snow at Christmas." She fanned herself dramatically with the card as she sat down on the corner of the bed. "It sets an entirely different mood."

"If you are inside maybe. My first Christmases with snow were all in a trench." Jack told her as he unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt. "I can't say I miss them."

"No. I suppose not." Phryne paused. Jack never talked about his time in the war. She took a risk and continued the conversation. "We used to play carols for the men in the hospital, but it made them so homesick that we eventually just stopped. It seemed cruel." She said quietly. "I still hear them sometimes, all those men, weeping in some sort of sad harmony. Those were my worst Christmases." She concurred. Jack turned around slowly, but she was already staring off into space, lost to another time and place.

"Oh no, my worst Christmas was definitely here." He corrected her as he joined her on the bed. She knew that he was trying to distract her from her thoughts by using her own curiosity against her but it always worked, so she gave him her attention.

"The Sandersons always throw a huge Christmas party every year. The guest list was always Melbourne's most powerful. It was where Rosie and I first announced our engagement to society, and, in an appropriate twist of fate, where we finally separated." He cleared his throat. "We were fighting particularly hard that day and I didn't want to go to the party and be forced to pretend that everything was fine. She gave me an ultimatum: I go to the party, or she wouldn't come home from it."

"And you stayed behind." Phryne reached out and took his hand.

"I went to the beach and got drunk." He chuckled at his own uncharacteristic behavior. "I thought my life was over. It turned out, it was just beginning." He smiled as he took her hand and caressed it lovingly with his own.

Phryne couldn't fight the smile the gentle action drew from her.

"Well, here's to better Christmases." She suggested.

"To better Christmases." He pledged, before sealing it with a kiss.


	6. December 6th: Aural Sex Part I

Phryne Fisher was contentedly lying on Jack's chest, her arm resting across his stomach as he read. She was listening to his heartbeat, as strong and sturdy as he was, instead of the record that was softly filling the study with music. The spring rain was blurring the windows and she found herself wanting to listen to him speak.

"Jack?" She interrupted him.

"Mm?" He questioned, still lost in his reading material.

"Tell me something I don't know." She requested quietly. There was a pause as he looked over at her quizzically.

"Am I under investigation?" He asked with a quirk of his lips.

"No. I just find the topic of you to be endlessly fascinating. Besides, you've lived a whole life that I don't know anything about. I want to learn something new." Jack analyzed her features for a moment but he could tell that she was being serious so he set his book down on the end table and humored her.

He was always humoring her.

"My mother taught me to play the piano." He stated a random fact.

"Oh. Excellent choice. Tell me more." She grinned.

"I believe it was originally for a Christmas recital at church. It was Silent Night. I was about five or six and the only child with fingers long enough to stretch across the keys."

"I love your long fingers." Phryne said as she interlocked her fingers with his and admired them.

"They love you." He murmured in her ear and she smirked at the unexpectedly dirty comment during such an innocent story.

"If that door wasn't wide open right now, I'd let them prove it." She volleyed.

"Mm. Good point." He concurred with a glance at the door. "I'll have to whisper my evidence instead."

Phryne immediately went wet at the thought of his low voice talking dirty to her. Her ear was still pressed to his chest and she could feel every syllable he spoke rumble against her body.

Oh God, this would be erotic.

"I'd be amenable to that idea." She said weakly, and she could practically feel Jack's confidence grow at the sound of her wobbly voice.


	7. December 7th: Aural Sex Part II

"Do you have any idea how hard it is not to touch you in my office?" Jack asked. "You always come in, dressed to the nines in silks and furs and flesh and I just…" He paused, unable to find the words. "My fingers are constantly longing to reach out and touch you."

"Where?" She sighed, wanting more.

"Everywhere. Down your neck, across your back, up your thighs, along the curve of your breasts." His pupils dilated. He was obviously as aroused as she was by this game.

"What would you do to me if you could touch me?"

"I would have you up against the door to my office, rattling the window pane. Or I would take you from behind as you clutched onto my desk."

"Yes…" She moaned, her entire body throbbing with desire at the thought. "I want to crawl on top of you and ride you in that damn chair all the time." She agreed. "And after you've solved a case so brilliantly, sometimes I want to rip open your trousers and take you in my mouth right there."

Jack groaned and shifted underneath her as he fought to find a more comfortable position.

"I want you to lay me out on the interview table and torture me with your tongue until I'm screaming."

"I would. God, I would." He swore.

They were both panting and painfully aroused as they lay on her couch contemplating their respective fantasies.

"Jack, if I get up to shut that door, will you…"

"Yes." He said before she could even finish her question.


	8. December 8th: Phryne's Fantasies

You probably don't know this about me unless you've read my other stuff but I am a whore for Tie smut (capital T) in all of its forms. Seriously, if you have written a MFMM tie fic, you gotta let me know in the comments. I'll be there. I'll like it. I'll review. Naturally, a little tie smut always makes it in to Ficmas.

OOOOO

Phryne couldn't sleep.

Jack had arrived on her doorstep to…what? Apologize for being a good man? He entered already spewing excuses, almost as if he were expecting to find a fight awaiting him. Maybe that was just a residual habit from his bad marriage. For some reason, he hadn't expected Phryne to accept or understand his behavior, but she knew better than anyone what it was like to need his specific shoulder to lean on when every other man in your life had let you down.

And then, out of nowhere, he had to take a step forward and promise her that he didn't always play by the rules. And he had the nerve to use his gravelly voice, the one that always undid her, even when she was fully dressed and in broad daylight. It wasn't a fair fight.

And then they were interrupted by Prudence, which was doubly unfair.

Still, they had been so close to… something.

Phryne wanted to assume what would have happened if they hadn't been disrupted, but Jack was not like other men. He was a constant surprise.

Dangerous territory. Change the subject, Phryne.

But when she closed her eyes, she was met with another tantalizing scene from earlier. This one took place in his office. She had simply been putting on his tie but the electricity in that room had been downright combustible. She had always guessed that he would be an incendiary lover. All that restraint had to come undone somewhere and Phryne would bet almost anything that it happened behind closed doors.

Phryne shivered as she finally gave herself permission to stray, teasing herself as she remembered how he had kept his eyes on the valley of her breasts, how it took everything she had not to unzip his fly, sit on his lap and let him bury his face in her blouse.

She imagined his rough hands sliding under her dress and holding her firmly by the cheeks as she rode him against his own desk. She would cling to his suit jacket, the material deliciously abrasive under her hands.

Her own touch became rough as she pictured the scene unfolding. They would be frantic for each other, like a volcano finally exploding. She could practically feel Jack's mouth marking her pale flesh as his, a souvenir of their illicit behavior.

She came at the thought, waves of pleasure washing over her.

As she floated back down to earth, she stared at the ceiling and cursed his late night visit. She had no idea when she would see him again. Christmas in July was happening in the Alps next week and it would be so much easier to vacation if she wasn't fantasizing about his potentially filthy mouth. But until the day she could confirm her suspicions, she knew she would have to settle for the fantasy.


	9. December 9th: Speech Patterns

"Jack, what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry. I just can't take it anymore."

"What do you…mmmm! Mmmm….Wait. Jack! What brought this on?"

"Shh…"

"…"

"…"

"My bedroom…up the stairs."

"Yes it is."

"…"

"…"

"Wait, one more."

"…"

"Mmm, and one more again."

"Phryne…"

"Upstairs. Right. Can we just…"

"No. Hold on."

"Jack! Put me down!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Fisher. You were taking too many liberties."

"Well, when you make up your mind to do something, Inspector, you certainly make up your…Oh. Hello."

"Hi. Turn around."

"Jack!"

"Your dress needs unzipping."

"Oh. Yes please. Although if you like what you see and you choose to stay back there, I'd totally under…"

"And back around."

"Hello again."

"Phryne…"

"What do you think? Was it worth the wait?"

"Absolutely. Worth the trouble…well, we'll see. "

"Hmm. My turn then?"

"Help yourself."

"I will, thank you."

"…"

"…"

"Will you hurry up? Here, just let me…"

"No. No helping! This is my favorite part and I only get to do it for the first time once. I want to pay extra attention."

"I promise that you'll get to do it for as long as you care to in the future but for now, can I just… OW."

"I said no helping."

"You know you just assaulted a police officer."

"If you want to explain to our young Constable Collins that I bit you while we were both naked in my bedroom, you go right ahead, but I've finally got you here and I will not be stopping until we're both clamped in irons. It has been too damn long since I have had a man in my bed. And when was the last time that you made love, Jack?"

"…"

"Exactly. So just stand there and stare at me while I finish undressing you."

"Fine."

"There. Now, I would ask if you're happy, but judging by your sizeable..."

"…"

"Jack Robinson, if you think that you can just kiss me any time you want me to stop talking…"

"…"

"It will most definitely work."

"…"

"The things I'm going to do to you…"

"No, Phryne. That's not why I… Get up off your knees, Phryne. I…Ohhhh."

"…"

"Oh, God."

"…"

"Phryne, that feels… Mm, just like that."

"Mmhm."

"Perfect, your mouth is perfect. Unh, unh, ohhh, unh, yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, unnnnnnhhh! Ohhhhhhhh…Holy mother of…"

"…"

"…"

"Jack, are you okay? Did I break you?"

"…I'm… not sure."

"I'm sorry. One sight of you naked and I just couldn't help it. I've been waiting to do that for years."

"Trust me. You don't… have to… apologize. But you do… have to get... on this bed… immediately… so I can reciprocate. And that's an order, Miss Fisher."

"Oooh, you're awfully commanding for someone who just collapsed on a mattress."

"Or I could turn over and go to sleep right now."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Alright then. Ankles up, Miss Fisher. We've got work to do."


	10. December 10th: Sunday Morning Showdown

Phryne had to confess: she really loved being at Jack's. There was safety in the tiny one bedroom house that sat behind a stone garden gate. They were totally alone from the world and on Sundays like this, when she knew that they would have all day to laze around reading or making love, she was filled with such domestic contentment that she almost didn't know how to process it.

So as she sat in her silk robe at the kitchen table, watching Jack read the newspaper, she was not expecting visitors.

"Who could that be?" Jack asked as they both looked up at the knock. He kissed the top of her head as he passed by her and headed for the door. Phryne glanced down and stole the paper from him as she tore another piece out of her roll. There was an article on their latest case and she wanted to see if she had earned a mention.

"Rosie." Phryne froze as she realized he had said his ex's name particularly loud for her benefit. "What brings you by on a Sunday morning?"

"Well, Mrs. Ferguson made an extra batch of cinnamon rolls for all of our holiday guests and I know that you always loved them, so I thought I would bring a few by for your breakfast, as a Christmas present." She explained. "As you can imagine, things have been quite tense lately and I needed an excuse to get some fresh air, even if that means delivering breakfast to starving bachelors at 9 o'clock on a Sunday morning."

Needed an excuse to win back your ex-husband, more like, Phryne thought jealously from her spot at the kitchen table. And he's neither starving nor a bachelor, thank you very much.

Out of spite, she stood up and made herself known, her chair scraping purposefully across the kitchen floor as she went to the sink to get an unneeded glass of water.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you had visitors." She heard Rosie say.

"No, not visitors." Jack said. "Just Phryne."

Phryne knew Jack well enough to know precisely what he was doing. He was subtly locking a door that Rosie had walked out of years ago. Phryne tightened her sash, ready to head into battle with him.

"Jack, darling. Your tea is getting cold. Oh, hello." She smiled.

"Rosie brought us cinnamon rolls for Christmas." He smiled widely.

"Oh, your favorite! That's so kind. I'm sorry, we're not exactly ready to receive guests. Sunday is our day off so we take our time in the mornings. Would you like to come in for some tea, we can certainly find some clothes to put on."

"No, I can't. We're on our way to church." Rosie said, pretending to be disappointed while still getting her judgment across. "But I'll let you get back to your tea. Merry Christmas." She said.

"Goodbye!" Phryne called after her.

As soon as Jack shut the door, he was raising an eyebrow at her.

"Darling?" Jack repeated.

"Too much?" She asked innocently.

"A bit, yeah."

"Well, she was trying to steal you back with cinnamon rolls, your favorite." Phryne mimicked the last two words.

"I was handling it." He defended.

"Far too nicely." She informed him.

"You're jealous." He grinned.

"I am not!" She protested.

"Come now, _darling_." He smirked as he reached for her hand. "Let me show you how worried you should be."


	11. December 11th: Holiday Hero

"Jack!" Phryne bursts into the police station like a freight train, dressed to the nines in her formal wear. She had been hosting a Christmas party with her Aunt Prudence when Cec and Bert had dropped by to inform her of the breaking news.

"Miss Fisher?" He asked as he poked his head out of his office door. "I thought you were attending a Christmas party this evening." He was still toweling his damp hair. When it got wet and was left to its natural state, it had a bit of a curl. It was incredibly distracting.

"Well that depends. Is it true that you got into a brawl on my account?" He sighed, clearly wondering how she had heard already.

"Come in to my office." He requested, wanting some privacy.

"So it's true. You actually fought your way into a pool?" She confirmed. "And you had the audacity to do all of this while I was not present to witness it?" She teased as he closed the door behind her.

"Phryne, I'm tired. Could you please just let me have a little peace before this day ends?" One look at him and she could tell that he was not in the mood for her games. He looked terrible.

"Has anyone seen to your lip?" She asked, more softly this time.

"It's fine. I've had worse."

"Well, it's bleeding again and you're about to ruin your shirt collar." She said as she grabbed his handkerchief that he always kept in his pocket and dabbed at the bit of blood that had formed.

"Ow." He hissed.

"Now, what led to this uncharacteristic behavior?"

"It's not important." He said, clearly trying to avoid the subject.

"Jack, nothing rattles you. You're the calmest person I know."

"That's not saying much." She gave him a warning look.

"He said something that shook you. I can still see it in your eyes."

"He…" Jack sighed reluctantly. "He was threatening your safety. Quite… graphically." He added politely.

"Oh Jack, you know that I can defen…"

"Sexually." He cut her off.

Phryne fell silent for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"Well then, I hope you broke his nose." She said.

"He's in the hospital."

"Good." She replied. "And thank you." She added quietly.

"You're welcome." He murmured. She turned her attention to the corner of his mouth again and wet her lips instinctively. He had such a gorgeous mouth.

"There we are." She set down the handkerchief and glanced up at his hair again. "You know, I think I like your hair curly." She confessed with a small grin, trying to change the subject. "May I?" She paused with her finger in the air, silently asking permission to touch him. Jack glanced up at his forehead, as if he could see his own hair.

"I'll allow it." He decided hesitantly. She brushed his hair gently back into place, but left the small curls untouched.

"There." She whispered. When their eyes met again, he was staring at her with such electricity, she found it hard to breathe. "Good as new."

The phone on his desk rang loudly, startling them from their shared reverie.

"Collins has left. I should…"

"Right, of course, and I have my Christmas party." She said with a finger pointed towards the door.

"Thanks for the…" He pointed to his mouth.

"You're welcome. Thank you." She replied quickly.

"Yes." He replied. "I mean, you're welcome." He swallowed hard as he glanced to the still ringing phone.

"Inspector." She bid him adieu as she nearly ran out of his office.

"Miss Fisher." He nodded as he picked up the phone. "City South. Detective Inspector Jack Robinson."


	12. December 12th: Boxing Day Part I

Phryne considered herself to be a strong, fearless woman. She had flown planes and scaled mountains and swam with sharks, but none of this mattered as she silently tip-toed through Jack's bedroom frantically searching for the remnants of yesterday's attire. She had found her dress, but her underwear was a lost cause, ripped under Jack's drunken hands only a few hours before. Her slip had seen better days but Dot could certainly mend it.

The humming in the hallway got closer as she threw on her dress and prayed that it was not on backwards.

"Good morning." Phryne smiled, but her hungover voice betrayed her as Jack's housekeeper came into the room.

"Oh." The young woman jumped. "You startled me, Miss. I didn't realize anyone was here. I thought the Inspector had already left for work."

"He did. He just left me behind apparently." Phryne explained as she read the note that was left on the dresser. The housekeeper was staring at the pile of torn silk in Phryne's hands. "Um, you haven't happened to pick up a hand bag by chance?" She asked.

"No, Miss. Perhaps it's in the living room?"

"Yes, well…I will definitely check there."

"Um, Miss?"

"Yes?"

"You've got a bit of holly, just there." She said as she pointed to Phryne's hair.

"Oh. Thank you." She said as she reached for the evidence of their Christmas debauchery. "And um, sorry about the sheets." She said, knowing that the remnants of the whipped cream and fruit they had been eating off each other last night would probably be discovered in some way, shape, or form. "Bit of Christmas pavlova." She added with a smile, proud of herself for the quick lie.

"In bed, Miss?"

"Well, it was Christmas." She forced through a tight smile. "I really must be going. Good morning!" She sang as she practically ran out of the house.

She made it all the way out to her car before taking another breath.

She was going to murder Detective Inspector Jack Robinson.


	13. December 13th: All's fair

"What do you think you are doing?" Jack wondered out loud as he found Phryne Fisher alone in his office, picnic basket in tow.

"Relax, Detective Inspector, I left the mistletoe at home." She used his title whenever he was getting particularly professional with her. It was a subtle reminder that she was not other people and his tone had no effect on her. "No, I just thought that if you had to spend Christmas Eve locked in your office, the least I could do is bring you dinner. You really are getting thinner every day. I think it's all that exercise we've been doing together." She made herself comfortable on her corner of his desk.

"You really shouldn't be…"

"Oh, it's no trouble." She said, not letting him finish as she unpacked the basket.

He sighed in capitulation as he made his way over to his chair. He knew when he was beat.

"Mr. B packed gratin." She said, delighted. "He knew it was your favorite." She held out a forkful and waited.

"The last time you tried to feed me gratin, it was to avoid being placed in a jail cell." He hesitated, suspicious of her motives. Still, he couldn't resist looking longingly at the fork. He was human after all.

"The last time I _offered_ you my gratin, it was so I could look at a folder." She corrected. "You were never going to put me in a jail cell. You were feeling far too playful that day."

"Was I?" He asked, playing dumb to get her side of the story. She knew the tactic well but she smiled and fed him the first bite of his dinner anyway.

"Mm." She murmured as she sat down on his lap. "I remember it distinctly. That was the very first moment I saw the real you. Not the Detective Inspector, but just… Jack. Constantly hungry, secretly flirty, calmly content Jack." He smiled at the adjectives as he swallowed his food.

"Do you know why I decided to play it your way that afternoon?"

She shook her head.

"You said that you hadn't taken anything seriously since 1918, and in your eyes, just for a moment, I saw something deeper than just a frivolous comment. You understood. I had spent the previous decade trying to bring peace and order to a disorderly world and you had taken the exact same experience and filled your life with wild adventure and joy. And I needed some of that in my life then."

"And so you traded my gratin for a police folder." She teased, throwing his action in stark relief to the heaviness of his explanation.

"I didn't give you anything you didn't already know." He reminded her. "And in return for the nothing that I gave you, I received a free, home cooked meal and some of my favorite photos of you." He boasted with a glance to the drawer where her silly mugshots were still kept.

"Well, you always were the only one who could handle me, even then." Phryne said, looking suitably impressed with him.

"Yes, well, I think I'm doing a better job of handling you these days, don't you think?" He asked as he let his hands stray to cup her bottom tightly, bringing her closer to his lips.

"Mm, quite." She whispered before he finally closed the distance between them and kissed her.


	14. December 14th: The Present Predicament

A/N: A two-parter!

OOOOO

Jack sighed. He had something for everyone except Phryne.

He had been avoiding it. Or it had been elusively avoiding him. What do you get for the woman who was rich enough to buy anything she wanted and stubborn enough to take anything else that she couldn't?

He had been thinking about it for weeks and still, nothing. He had no idea what he could possibly get her that would possibly meet her standards.

He had scored high points with the swallow brooch he had given her earlier in the year, but now he seriously resented the fact that he set the bar so high. He wanted something romantic, something personal, something only he could give her...

He stopped dead in his tracks and took three steps backwards as he looked in the store front window.

That would work.

OOOOO

Phryne walked into her bedroom and found an envelope, wrapped in red ribbon, waiting for her on her dressing table. She frowned as she picked it up but recognized Jack's handwriting on it immediately. She pulled at the ribbon and opened the envelope.

 _Time to practice your detective skills, Miss Fisher. Your presents are scattered all around town. You'll find the first waiting at the spot where this whole enterprise began._

 _Yours,_

 _Jack_

Phryne bit her lip to keep from squealing.

"Mr. Butler? I'm going to need Cec and Bert for the evening!" She called down the steps. He met her at the foot of the stairs.

"Already waiting, Miss." He replied. "The Inspector told them to be here at 7pm. Although he neglected to say where you would be going." She smiled as she found them in the kitchen.

"The Hotel Windsor please, gentlemen. I've got an Inspector to find."


	15. December 15: The Present Predicament II

A/N: This is the sequel to yesterday's fic, and a call and response to the 13th, in a weird way.

OOOOO

Phryne was speechless.

A new pair of gloves at her favorite table at the Windsor.

 _Lucky for me, you were wearing gloves the first time you stole my crime scene._

A biography on Antony and Cleopatra, with a particularly perfect inscription, found under her name at the theatre's ticket booth.

 _To my Egyptian Queen, from your Roman Soldier_

A small crystal ball, left in her Aunt's parlor.

 _I still only see martinis with you, but perhaps you'll have better luck._

A small bottle of Chanel, left in the boot of her motorcar.

 _Whether you are walking or driving, I will always need the extra notice to prepare for your arrival._

Bullets for her .38 revolver, left on a table in the morgue.

 _I confess this one is mostly for my own peace of mind. Please don't end up here._

A handheld telescope, left on the beach.

 _So you can always watch your universe expanding._

Phryne read all of the cards again and her heart leapt into her throat as the taxi came to a stop.

"Last stop, Miss." Bert said with a smile. She glanced out the window.

Café Replique.

She didn't know why but she was suddenly terrified of what was waiting for her behind those doors.

She made her way into the empty restaurant and paused as she saw Jack, standing at the table where they had their first kiss, silhouetted in candlelight.

"I've been looking for you, Detective Inspector." She said, faking her confidence until it returned again. "Still full of surprises I see."

"Did you find all seven of your presents?" He asked as he held out a chair for her. She frowned.

"But there were only six…" A smile ghosted along his lips and she realized he was toying with her.

"You should be grateful I am in such a forgiving mood right now." She warned.

"You're right. I'm sorry." He chuckled to himself as the waiter came over and poured them champagne.

"I am surprised that you picked this place." She said. "I didn't think you cared for French food."

"Well, I can do without the snails, but this is the only place where tonight could have ended." Jack said certainly.

"Because it was the location of our first kiss?" Phryne asked seductively. Jack shook his head.

"This was where I fell in love with you." He said simply and Phryne felt her pulse race. "It was the first time I saw who you really were, underneath all of the… chaos." He replied. "You were trembling, but fearless. Weak but wide open…"

"Naked but painted." She added with a smirk.

"Mm." He agreed with a tiny smile. "I fell in love with everything I saw that day." He smiled as he placed his hand over hers and held it. "For better or worse, this is where it all started."

Their eyes locked and Phryne's stomach flipped at his choice of words. She looked down at his hand and felt overwhelmed. This was all too much for someone who swore only a year ago that she could never commit to anyone, including him.

"Jack, I never expected... this." She said, not knowing how to name something so big and important. "I'm not sure if I can… I don't want to ruin it." She confessed quietly.

"So don't." Jack said simply, his kind eyes making it seem impossible that she could ever let him down. "Just…consider me your next big adventure." He offered a new take on the idea.

She took a deep breath.

She always did love an adventure.


	16. December 16th: Necessary Lies Part I

Phryne had been laughing.

She couldn't even recall why.

She tried to remember how the rest of the scene unfolded but it was already slipping through her fingers like sand.

 _"Hugh! Welcome! Join us!" She greeted him jovially, making room for him on the sofa next to her. When he didn't respond, she looked up and realized he was white as a sheet._

 _"Hugh, what is it?" Dot inquired. But Phryne already knew. She had seen that face before. She knew instantly that something had happened to Jack._

 _"There was a shooting."_

 _"Where is he?" She asked, not caring in the least about the details of what had happened. "Hugh Collins! Where is he?" She was already grabbing her coat before he replied._

She shifted in her seat, unable to sit still. Jack was always the one who sat still, forever watching half-annoyed, half-amused as she flitted around rooms. She needed that. He tethered her so that she never strayed too far.

Now he was so still, she couldn't even leave his bedside.

"When you wake up, we are going to have serious words about your timing." She informed him with a sigh.

"Miss, visiting hours have ended. You will have to come back tomorrow." A new nurse she didn't recognize informed her.

"I'm not a visitor. I'm his fiancé." The word, despite being said frequently in the last two days, still felt foreign on her lips and the nurse looked less than confident in her answer. "You can ask Doctor Macmillan." Phryne said, throwing her name around yet again. She really owed her something after this.

"Let her stay." Jack requested hoarsely from the bed and Phryne whipped her head back to see him groggily coming to.

"Jack! You're awake!" She clutched at his hand.

The nurse left to fetch a doctor and Jack looked down at Phryne's hand confused. Ever the detective, he felt the ring she was wearing on her left hand.

"How long was I out?" He winced and cleared his throat. "Must have been awhile to wake up with a fiancé." He was too weak to be teasing her but she knew that he was trying to put her at ease. She got him a glass of water and helped him take a drink.

"Only the last day or so. They performed surgery to remove the bullet and you're going to be fine. You were so lucky, Jack. The doctors are calling it a Christmas miracle."

"I think the real miracle is you saying you're engaged out loud." He forced a pained smile.

"Shhh. You need to rest. We'll talk about the wedding plans later." She added with a wink as the doctor came in.


	17. December 17th: Necessary Lies Part II

"Phryne, I'm awake, I'm healing, and I'm certainly not going anywhere. You should go home, get some rest. There's no reason you should have to spend your entire holiday in this place." Jack requested.

"I'm fine. People are bringing me everything I need." She said from the other side of her novel.

"You need a break." He countered.

"No I don't." She refused as she put her book down. "You almost died, Jack. On Christmas. I think we can all agree that you do not get to make judgment calls until at least New Year's."

"Fair enough." He acquiesced to her angry gaze. He fell silent for a moment before picking up his paper. "So, where did you find the engagement ring? A gift from an old friend, perhaps?" He asked casually from behind the safety of the newspaper.

"Oh, no. I just moved it from my other hand." She grinned. "I quite like the look of it though." She said as she held out her hand to admire it. "You can have Dot steal this one for comparison if you ever get the notion of proposing." She teased him.

"And why would I do that?" He asked absentmindedly. Phryne looked at him in surprise.

"Don't you want to marry me?" She asked. He glanced over his paper and shrugged.

"I've been married before. I'm not in a hurry to do it again."

He might as well have told her the sky was actually pink and the grass was secretly orange.

"Well." She said, completely dumbfounded by his statement. "And here I thought you were just being noble and respecting my wishes."

"I can't do both?" He looked at her for an answer as he turned the page of his paper.

She couldn't respond. She found herself surprisingly disappointed by his statement. To not get married because it protected her modern ideas of independence was one thing. To not want to marry her at all, well, that was just insulting.

He marked her silence and set his paper aside.

"Phryne…" He recognized her sad expression at last. "I'll tell you what: I will consider the idea if you do." He compromised.

She thought back to his near death experience and looked down at the ring on her finger.

She had a feeling she already knew her answer.


	18. December 18th Maintaining Some Propriety

Jack found her in the kitchen, sitting on his table in a breezy white sundress.

"Jack. There you are. I was about to come wake you. Christmas shopping waits for no man." He smiled as he walked over and settled between her legs.

"Do you remember that day when you refused to remove yourself from my desk?" Jack murmured as he kissed her neck.

"I remember you scared me half to death with a spider." She shuddered.

"Ah, yes. Lionel." Jack smiled fondly at the memory.

"You named the spider Lionel?!"

"He was a great help during that case." Jack said. "He got me into your bedroom for the first time. He found your…"

"Internal device." She spoke for him.

"Mm." Jack nodded. "He got you to voluntarily flash me in my office and then he got you to do as you were told. That spider got further with you in a day than I did in three years. He deserved a name." Jack defended. "And probably the Victoria Cross."

"Maybe you should have given _him_ your Buffalo Bill medal." She said stiffly.

"Oh no. I repaid him by letting him loose in the garden. He's probably halfway to Perth by now." He assured her.

"Lucky him." She rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, you were sitting on my desk," he began again, "wearing a gauzy white dress, with your legs crossed so it hitched up above your knee. It was driving me crazy. I was driven to distraction wondering what would happen if I uncrossed those legs." His fingers caressed her knees. "I could run my fingers up your dress to unhook your garters, roll your nylons down, and kiss my way up and down your legs." He paused. "Or keep going, and test your arousal before rubbing you into complacency." He offered as his hands ran up and down her thighs. "Or my personal favorite, bury my head between your thighs and have you right there on my desk." He added.

"Jack…" Phryne gasped in surprise as he pulled her underwear off. "I had no idea that I was torturing you. I thought you were just trying to maintain some, oh," she gasped again as his finger slid into her, "some propriety at the office." She moaned deliciously as he fingered her right there on the table.

"Never crossed my mind." He murmured. Her eyes fluttered shut as he rubbed circles around her clit.

"Ohhhh" She leaned back slightly, giving him better access. "Yes, Jack." She cried as she clutched the edge of the table tightly. He placed his free hand behind her neck.

"Let go." He whispered, and she fell back into his hand. He lowered her down across the table and removed his fingers from her warm body. She whimpered at the loss but he quickly shoved her dress around her hips. He finally slid his tongue over and inside her. She clutched at his hair as his tongue lapped greedily at her core, never satisfied.

"Yes, oh God, yes!" She arched against his mouth as she came hard and fast for him.

When he arose again, he took a good, long look at her. She was flushed, boneless, and laying spread eagle on his kitchen table.

"Maintain some propriety..." He shook his head at her nonsense, wiping his mouth and fingers on the nearest towel. "As if propriety has any place in this relationship."


	19. December 19th: Bicycles and Bribery

"More tea, Miss?"

"Yes, thank you." She smiled as Mr. Butler poured her another cup.

"Miss Fisher!" Jack yelled as he barged through her front door.

"Inspector Robinson for you, Miss." Mr. Butler announced calmly as he set down the teapot.

"I should think so." She muttered as she watched the Inspector come around the corner and into the parlor. "Jack! You're just in time for tea."

"What do you think you are doing?!"

"Mr. Butler, get Jack a cup of tea. I think he needs it more than I." Phryne said, cataloging the various veins popping out of Jack's neck.

"That will be quite unnecessary, Mr. Butler. Thank you." He shut her down immediately. He was not going to let her charm her way through this.

"What brings you, Detective Inspector?"

"There was a very expensive, imported, French racing bicycle delivered to my house this afternoon. When I explained that I hadn't ordered a bicycle from France, they assured me that there was no mistake and that I should take it up with you."

"Oh, is that all? It's your Christmas present. You said you wanted to ride in the Tour de France as a child. Well, the Alcyon team won the Tour de France this year. If you would prefer a different brand, I could..."

"Whether or not I like the brand is beside the point, I cannot accept it."

"Why not?"

"It's too expensive, and elaborate, and it most definitely feels like a bribery charge is in order." His anger was breaking down his normally reserved barriers and Phryne couldn't help but find it alarmingly addicting.

"So?" She prodded, wanting more.

"So?!" He cried in frustration, giving her exactly what she wanted.

"Jack, you have dealt with me admirably over the last year and I know that it hasn't been easy. This is my way of thanking you for your unending patience. Enjoy it. You've earned it. And it's not too expensive. If you'll recall, I bought Cec and Bert their taxi just for moving my furniture." She smiled. "I think I owe you an island at this point."

"Even so, Miss Fisher. I assure you, I cannot accept it."

"Very well then." She said, understanding.

He nodded, happy to have gotten through to her, and she saw him visibly relax.

"Oh and Jack? While you are here, I need to ask you a favor."

His jaw set solidly again, but he did the gentlemanly thing and acquiesced.

"Yes, Miss Fisher?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"I have a very expensive, imported, French bicycle on my hands with nowhere to store it. Would you be a dear and keep it at your house until I can find it a proper home?"

Jack's entire face went blank before he turned on his heel and walked straight out of the parlor.

"If you feel the need to test drive it, be my guest!" She called after him before she heard the door slam. "Merry Christmas!" She shouted loud enough for him to hear it on the sidewalk.


	20. December 20th: A Dangerous Dance

Phryne was bored.

Still, Jack was certain he was the only person in the room who could tell. She always shined at these black-tie affairs, exuding that ineffable charm that made everyone want to watch her every move (including him) but he knew that the rich and powerful guests of her aunt's Christmas party were not her usual type of friends.

Her wandering gaze finally landed on him and he couldn't help but smile warmly. He held up a flute of champagne, a cheap trick, but one that he knew would bring her over to him. She pulled herself away from the throng of people with some polite excuse and began walking over to him.

She made an overly-dramatic pained face and he smirked at their secretly childish behavior in such a grown up environment.

"Having fun?" He asked as she finally made it to him. She stole the champagne out of his hand and took a long sip.

"I'm ready for a dance with you." She said as she set down the glass. "Slow and close?" She requested. He nodded once and reached for her hand.

He led her out onto the floor just as a slow waltz began to play. She smiled in surprise, as if he had the power to make such a coincidence happen. He just held her close, letting her continue to believe that he did.

"Oh. Maybe not so close." Phryne said as she took a step back. Jack frowned and looked down at her, wondering what could have made her, of all people, say such a thing. He followed Phryne's eye line to discover what she was hiding from. Rosie was watching them out of the corner of her eye as she stood in what was, no doubt, a group of gossiping women across the room.

"Intimidated by the competition, Miss Fisher?" He asked, his tone conveying his amusement.

"It's not funny, Jack. She hates me." Phryne informed him. "Which is fine, but I don't want to make things worse for you."

"She doesn't hate you. You two barely know each other."

"Oh, she does. She blames me for the investigations against her family, for ruining your reputation…"

"Ruining my what?" He interrupted with an incredulous scoff. If he ever had a reputation to ruin, the messy divorce and his destruction of the Police Commissioner's office had disgraced it long before their relationship went public. "Well, if you can handle the scrutiny, I'd prefer to dance with you properly." He said as he closed the distance between them again and then some, until their hips were side by side in more of a tango than a waltz.

"There are a lot of very powerful people in this room, Jack." She whispered a warning.

"Then perhaps we'll teach them something." He suggested before giving her a final dip. He brought her up slowly, letting his hand linger along the small of her back, until they were nose to nose.

"Jack Robinson." She murmured his name in awe. "Just when I think I can't love you any more, you go and turn my head all over again."

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Fisher." He smirked proudly against her lips as she kissed him chastely.


	21. December 21st: Summer Solstice Part I

A/N: Happy Phryne's birthday! We interrupt this Ficmas for a birthday two-parter.

OOOOO

Phryne found him sitting in his office, paperwork stacked everywhere, looking frazzled.

"Jack Robinson, what are you doing?"

"Um, paperwork, why?" He asked as he looked around. Phryne stared him down.

"You were supposed to pick me up half an hour ago." He furrowed his brow at her. "For my birthday dinner?"

"Oh, Phryne… I…." His eyes widened as he glanced down at his watch. "I'm so sorry. Let me drive you home, I'll change, and then we'll go, okay?" He was already out of his office before she could respond.

They drove in silence the entire way to his house.

"How could you possibly forget my birthday?" She finally asked as they pulled up to his house. "Our very first one we spent together involved your kidnapping and my attempted murder!"

"Well, I mean, those _do_ sort of come with the territory when you're around." He pointed out.

"You should at least remember the first time you locked me in a jail cell." She sniffed. "I'm sure you got great joy out of it."

"Maybe I would have if you hadn't nearly broken my leg." He pointed out sharply before opening his door and getting out.

"Well, you arrested me." She huffed as she followed him up the walk.

"Phryne?" He sighed in frustration.

"What?!" She asked, stubbornly not backing down.

"Happy birthday." He opened the front door, revealing all of her friends and family standing in his house, costumed in police uniforms and black and white prison outfits.

"What?!" She walked past Jack and into the house, completely shocked by the surprise. "Oh, my. Look at all of you!" She cried out. "I find it extremely worrisome that all of my friends can plan so much with me knowing so little." She confessed as Mr. Butler poured her some champagne. She gladly accepted the glass.

The ridiculous sight of Cec in prison stripes and Bert in a constable's hat and uniform sent her reeling and she gave them each a hug for the effort.

"Did you do this?" Phryne asked Mac.

"We all did it together. Dot made the prison outfits. Mr. Butler cooked. Constable Collins and Inspector Robinson provided the police attire. I shipped in enough French champagne to make us all forget tonight ever happened." Mac grinned as she raised her glass in the air.

"To the Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher!" She yelled to the crowd.

"To Miss Fisher!" They all whooped back.


	22. December 22nd: Summer Solstice Part II

"No." Jack muttered in his sleep.

Phryne turned over to witness his restless body turning spastically in fear.

"Jack." She murmured.

"No. Please! Foyle, no!" He yelled as he awoke with a start, gasping for air. She moved to get out of bed and he jumped, forgetting he wasn't alone.

"It's just me. You're safe." She assured him. His ragged breath and shaking hands made her long to reach out and hold him but she could sense that it would only make things worse. She went to fetch a glass of water and set it down next to him. He glanced at it before touching her hand lightly in gratitude.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, knowing he never did. He kept his nightmares locked somewhere deep inside.

He shook his head.

"You can't tell me anything I haven't already dreamt myself." She reminded him as she crawled back into bed.

"I…" He looked at her reluctantly. "I couldn't save you… or Jane. I was too late. Your throats…" He swallowed back the emotion as the image came back to him.

"Jack." Phryne shook her head at his unnecessary pain. "Come here. Lay down." She requested, opening her arms to him. He hesitated but ultimately did as he was told. Phryne placed a kiss on the top of his head and tucked him under her chin. She absentmindedly brushed her fingers through his hair. She knew how awful those dreams were and she wanted desperately to make it better.

"You did save me, you know." She murmured into his hair. "I wish I could tell you how much. You brought me closure. I barely even thought about Foyle today. I don't need to anymore."

"Really? It's all I could think about: not letting you think about it." He confessed.

Phryne slid down the headboard to stare into his eyes. Jack had taken on her burdens, even without being asked, and she was struck with the overwhelming need to kiss him senseless for his actions.

"Do you know what will make you feel better?" She asked.

"What?"

She kissed him long and slow until her own brain was complete mush. She pulled away and watched his eyes flutter open again.

"Better?" She analyzed his features and he frowned.

"I don't know. Maybe we should try again." He suggested as he went in for another kiss.

"Now?" She smiled.

"Mmmm, still not quite there." He decided. "But we've got all night to get it right." She laughed gleefully as he rolled her underneath him.


	23. December 23rd: Boxing Day Part II

A/N: The big three! For our 23rd day, I wrote the much requested second part of Boxing Day for you guys. The 24th will be super smutty. The 25th is going to be the full-size Christmas fic finale! I'm with family at the moment, so I'll try to maintain a normal schedule of posting, but we'll see.

OOOOO

Jack's head was pounding as he tried to focus on the crime scene photos in front of him.

The shrill ring of the telephone nearly blinded him and he closed his eyes for a second. But as soon as he did, he saw Phryne again: naked aside from a holly wreath sitting crookedly atop her head, sucking his champagne-soaked cock into her talented mouth.

No.

No.

Crime scene photos. Murder investigation.

He tried to drink his tea, but he always took milk and sugar and with only one sip, he was tasting her sweet cunt, covered in whipped cream and kiwi juice and her own delicious arousal.

He didn't even bother trying to file that one away. It was a taste he could never forget.

"Miss Fisher! Nice to see you." Constable Collins called out, always a bit louder than with others to give him the added warning of her inevitable storming of his office.

How could she possibly be in today? He could barely stand.

"Hi Jack, mind if I come in?" She asked from the doorway and Jack instantly felt fear. Polite, with boundaries? That was uncharted territory for her.

"Shut the door, Miss Fisher." He tested and she actually listened to him.

Oh, he was in trouble.

"What are you doing here, Miss Fisher? I assumed you of all people would have the luxury of nursing a hangover in bed." He said.

"Funny story about that: I woke up naked, alone, in your bed, covered in a variety of sticky substances, with a handful of destroyed silk lingerie and a young, blonde housekeeper cleaning your house." She informed him.

"But it's a holiday." Jack frowned.

"Not for your housekeeper." Phryne bit back.

He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose as she made herself comfortable on the corner of his desk.

"I'm sorry." She said as she realized how much pain he was in. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think she caught on." She said as she rubbed his tense shoulder through his suit.

"Who knew it was possible to drink so much champagne off such a small person?" Jack wondered aloud.

"I think it was the belly button discovery that did us in." She replied dryly.

"I can't keep my eyes open, but I can't close them either because when I do, I just see…"

"Me? Covered in whipped cream and fruit and champagne?" She whispered. "As your warm, wet tongue works its way over _every, single_ , part of my body." She practically moaned the memory and Jack felt the blood leaving his brain. "My skin is still echoing with it."

"Not here, Miss Fisher." He warned her. "I could have you arrested for those thoughts."

"As you damn well should." She said. "They're that good."

"You left…" he paused to swallow back the tension growing in his already desert-dry throat, "quite an impression as well." He promised her.

"Come by tonight." She requested saucily as she toyed with the lapels of his suit. "We'll take a long, hot bath, go to bed clean and fully-clothed, in fresh summer sheets, and sleep like an old married couple." Her sultry tone made it sound impossible to turn down.

"God, that sounds good." He muttered, never more grateful for her than he was in that moment.

"Good." She said as she kissed him chastely. "Until then, Inspector."


	24. December 24th: Mirrors

A/N: Ever notice at the end of Deadweight that Phryne has mirrors all over the foot of her bed? Yeah, that can't have been an accident.

OOOOO

Jack walked up behind her, still naked from their escapades before, and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I have a confession." He stated. Phryne met his gaze in the full-length mirror and raised an eyebrow. "When I first set foot in this room, I saw these mirrors, and I knew precisely why they were stationed here." He said as he motioned to the foot of her bed. "And I became irrationally jealous."

"Jealous?" Phryne said.

"Mm. Of all the men who had been in here and probably never realized what was happening behind them." He said as he placed a kiss on her neck.

"And what would that be?" She asked slyly.

"You, watching them make love to you, worship you, getting off on the power, with them none the wiser." He traced her ear with his tongue and her eyes darkened in response to his words. "I knew instantly what you liked, and I'll admit, for a moment, I fantasized about becoming one of the many you watched." He nibbled on her shoulder. "But then I realized something."

"What?" She asked, breathless by his confession.

"You were missing the best part." He said simply. "What I see when I'm inside you." He whispered as he bunched her nightgown at her hips momentarily as he revealed her sex in the mirror.

"Jack…" She murmured.

He pulled the offending silk off entirely and she watched as her skin pebbled in the cool night air.

"I bet that no man has ever made you look the way you do when you're with me." His hands slid over her hips and down the front of her thighs. "So desperate, so greedy, so out of control." He listed.

"Yes." She agreed, parting her legs willingly. He noticed her damp thighs in the mirror.

"Does my fantasy arouse you, Miss Fisher?" His low voice taunted her as he rubbed his erection against her drenched core.

"Yes." She panted. "God, I've never been so wet." She promised and in return for her honesty, he entered her easily. The snug angle made him bite his own lip and groan. He rocked into her once, testing the movement.

Her eyes squeezed shut as one small hand clutched the back of his head, holding him tightly against her, while the other toyed with her breast.

"Eyes front, Phryne." He whispered in her ear and her eyes fluttered open in surprise at the familiar command. "Good." He praised as he began to move again. He kept his eyes on her as she watched him slide in and out of her.

"Oh, Jack." She moaned.

"Do you see how gorgeous you are?" He murmured. "See how your skin flushes, your breasts pucker, your eyes dilate?"

"Touch me. Please… please touch me." She begged, never taking her eyes off the mirror. His fingertips disappeared between the patch of hair between her legs and she arched forward into his touch, her hand clutching desperately at the back of his head as she began to fight between the pleasure both in front of her and behind her. She cried out as she came hard in a devastating orgasm that tore through her and milked him into oblivion.

Jack slipped from her body, but managed to keep ahold of her as he staggered back to the bed on trembling legs. They fell to the mattress and she immediately placed a weary wrist over her eyes.

"I might not be able to stand until next Christmas." She informed him and he grinned. She turned over to see him. "Is this why you're so restrained all the time? Because your thoughts are so wicked?" She asked.

He shrugged.

"Well, I want to know every last wicked thought in that head. I demand it."

"I'll see what I can do." He promised her.


	25. December 25th: Christmas in July

A/N: Merry Christmas, Miss Fisher Fandom! This one came out four times as long as the rest so I thought, meh. Save it for the end! It goes nicely with 'Necessary Lies' Parts I and II if you want to re-read those before tackling this one, but it's certainly not... necessary. (*winces* Sorry.) Thanks for all of your lovely comments and for such a warm welcome to this fandom. I hope you enjoyed this game as much as I did. Happy reading!

PS: Many thanks to Dispatch22705 and Sunsetdreamer for their support during this endeavor. Check out their stuff!

OOOOO

It all started at the Queenscliff beach, when Jack had emerged from the sea in his bathers. They had left little to Phryne's already overactive imagination. He had been grinning widely from ear to ear and his hair was a tousled mess. She had never seen it that way and it took everything she had not to toss her ice cream in the sand, run her fingers through his wet curls, and have him right there on the beach.

She caught a glimpse of what he must have looked like when he was younger, a hopeful and boisterous young man, before years of war, police work, and a bad marriage had made him more reserved. She had been striving to bring out that playful side of him ever since. And what was more playful than celebrating frivolous holidays that a normal person couldn't find on a calendar?

Jack had been in Sydney for a police conference for the last week and she had taken the opportunity to surprise him when he arrived home.

She heard his key in the front door and unconsciously smiled. Jack only managed to get the door halfway open before he realized someone else was in his house.

"Hello, Jack." She greeted him and watched as his eyes took in the giant Christmas tree in the corner and the stockings hung on the fireplace. The entire room looked like a Christmas display. "Christmas in July." She grinned with a flourish towards the room. "Since our actual Christmas was disrupted by your ridiculous attempts at being a hero, I thought we'd try again. Are you surprised?"

"By you? Constantly." He told her as he hesitantly stepped into his living room. "Do I even want to know how you got…?" He asked as he pointed to the tree.

She shook her head.

"Right." He nodded once in understanding.

"Here, have a cookie." She offered him a plate of his favorites and a glass of milk. The way to his acceptance had always been through his stomach and she came prepared in case his travels had made him tired and irritable. He took a cookie and made his way over to the tree. It was covered in little toy bicycles that Dot had helped make into ornaments. He shook his head at her dedication.

"You don't do anything halfway, do you Miss Fisher?"

"Never." She confirmed. "Do you like it?" She asked.

"I do. It's a great surprise. Thank you." He grinned. "Oh," he exclaimed as he noticed the two presents under the tree. "Santa was here as well, I see."

"Yes." She smiled as she went over to pick them up and he sat down on the couch. "This one first." She said as she handed him a box and joined him, tucking her feet under her gracefully as she sat down next to him.

"To Jack, from Santa." He gave her a small smile before ripping the paper off like a child. "Oh. New pajamas." He said as he pulled the silk pajamas out of the box. They were gunmetal grey with emerald green stripes and they were monogrammed in green with his initials. "Very nice. Thank you."

"Don't look at me. Santa wanted to get you something practical. He knew that you had been good this year." She smirked. "Now this one, however, is from me." She said as she handed him the next box. He set it down immediately. "Oh for goodness sake. It's nothing dangerous, I promise."

Jack picked it up gingerly and lifted the lid off the box. He pushed the tissue paper aside to reveal his gift. He closed his eyes briefly and turned a lovely shade of Christmas red.

"Because you've also been secretly very naughty this year." She teased as he pulled her matching green lace lingerie out of the box. He ran the material between his rough fingertips. "Although there wasn't enough material to monogram this one, I'm afraid." She commented.

"I should think not." He swallowed roughly. "I thought you said that my present wasn't dangerous. I seem to recall a conversation that we had once about lingerie that would disagree."

"It's not dangerous. It's downright lethal." She grinned mischievously and the two of them stared into each other's eyes for just a bit too long.

"Santa didn't happen to drop off any mistletoe while he was here, did he?" He asked, without breaking eye contact with her.

"It's already hanging in the bedroom." She informed him. Jack didn't hesitate, handing her both boxes and picking her up in a fireman's carry.

"Ooh!" She cried in surprise as she clutched the boxes tight. Jack laughed as he carried her into the bedroom. Sure enough, he kissed her properly under the mistletoe before letting her go so she could go get prepared for their evening. When she reappeared, he was already waiting in bed. But one sight of Phryne in her emerald green lace chemise teddy and Jack was suddenly at an impasse.

"I don't know what I want more: to keep looking at you or to touch you." He said as he ran a hand up her outer thigh.

"Now there's an idea." Phryne took a step back from his touch and he pouted adorably in disappointment. She would have kissed him if she wasn't searching for his discarded tie. "Hands please." She requested as she found it and he foolishly trusted her enough to give them over. She wrapped his wrists in the tie and left him naked and bound to the bed post behind him.

"Look, and then touch. Nice and then naughty." She said, proud of herself for reaching a compromise. "But first, I'm going to kiss every last centimeter on your body."

Jack closed his eyes as Phryne began to explore her way from the top of his head all the way down to his toes. Ever her restrained Inspector, he didn't say a word as she tortured him, but from the way that he kept biting and licking his lips, he was enjoying every second of it.

Still, enough was enough.

"I think you're ready." She surmised. "Now tell me what you want, Jack Robinson." She whispered, prepared to make his filthiest dreams come true.

"Touch yourself." He said roughly, his voice hoarse with desire. Phryne paused. That was not at all what she was expecting. She sat up on her knees, spread her legs, and ran two fingers up and down her wet core. He watched captivated. "Put them in my mouth." He commanded.

She fed him her fingers as he sucked her clean and she moaned at the sensation.

"Go on. I want you to get as close as you can to the edge without going over and then I want you to stop." He requested.

She did as she was told, but almost forgot to stop until she heard her name.

"Phryne." His voice cut through her bliss. "Stop it, Phryne." He scolded her and it reminded her of their first kiss.

 _Eyes front, Phryne._

"Untie me." He said quietly and she was so clouded with desire, she did it without thought. As soon as he was free, he was pulling the lingerie off of her and laying her down on the mattress gently. He kissed her forehead.

"Oh, I missed this." He whispered.

A kiss to her jaw.

"I love you." There was something about the sincere way he shared the sentiment tonight that sent a shiver down her spine.

A kiss to the base of her neck.

Phryne realized that he was going to go through the entire process all over again without any satisfaction in between and she didn't think she could take it.

"Jack please."

"I do. I love you." His voice was low, but steady. He sucked a rosy nipple into his mouth and she cried out in frustration as he blew a cold stream of air over the exposed flesh. She clutched at his back, nails digging helplessly into his skin, as she tried to hold herself together. He repeated the action on her other breast and she felt herself begin to shake.

"I need…I need…" She tried to convey what she wanted but she couldn't process it. "Please, I need you, Jack." She begged for mercy.

Jack took a long look at her, as if he could see what was happening inside her.

"Now you're ready." He repeated back to her.

He wrapped her legs around him and slid into her easily and she suddenly felt like she could breathe again. He thrust into her and she was hit with the overwhelming epiphany that, as good as it felt, she needed more.

"Jack, look at me." She begged. They had only spent a week apart and she was craving him like opium. It was him: his scent, his steady presence, his dry wit, his comforting smile that she needed to get through the day.

She needed _him_.

If she had thought that she could love him without giving everything that she had to him, including her independence, she had been mistaken.

"Oh God." She cried out as she realized what had changed.

Jack had always been hers, whether he liked it or not. But now, she was his as well. This new, intense feeling inside her was Jack's kind of love: serious, all-consuming, and most importantly, staggeringly permanent.

No wonder he had tried to run away from it.

Jack adjusted her hips and she cried out in pleasure. His name desperately falling from her lips over and over sent them both spiraling through a joint climax.

Jack sighed in exhausted relief and buried his face in the crook of her neck as he came down from his high. She ran her fingers lovingly through his hair and held him there, hoping he wouldn't see the tears that had just sprung to her eyes.

When he finally rolled to his side of the bed, he noticed her post-coital tears and was immediately concerned.

"Phryne, what is it? What's wrong?" He asked.

"I'm fine, Jack. I'm fine." She smiled through her tears as she placed a hand on his worried face to ease his fears. "I just…I didn't realize how much I missed you." She said as he wiped a stray tear off her cheek.

"I missed you too." He replied, but his concerned frown didn't leave.

"It's strange. I never thought that I could be tied to any man and now here I am, lying next to you, completely overwhelmed by how happy you make me."

"I believe I was the one who was tied up." He pointed out, lightening the mood a little and she smiled despite herself. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked one more time.

Phryne nodded and kissed his furrowed brow, smoothing away his worry lines.

She shivered and reached over for his pajama top and put it on, buttoning only the middle button. She straddled his stomach and he sat up against his headboard to meet her.

"I'm yours, Jack Robinson. Now and forever. There's no doubt about it." She whispered the vow. Jack glanced down at his monogrammed initials resting over her heart before looking up at her again anew.

"You really are a constant surprise." He murmured in amazement before kissing her.


End file.
